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This video shows a computer case that's "pretty expensive," says Timothy Lord. "It's over $300. On the other hand, it is beautiful." The manufacturer, Taiwan-based IN WIN, has put a $399 MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) tag on their top-of-the-line "limited edition" computer cases. Wow. Most of us probably won't buy one of these, considering that low-cost mid-tower cases can be had for $30, and the entire computer used to edit this video cost $399 (with the addition of some RAM and a better video card). But there is a market for Lamborghinis, and there is a market for computer cases that cost as much as a complete low-end computer. And CES (annoying sounds if you click the link) is a great place to look at them even if you don't really need a computer case that costs more than a minimum wage worker's entire weekly paycheck.

Timothy Lord: Over the last several years, I have been moving more and more to laptops instead of conventional desktop PCs. But that is not true for everyone. Sometimes you need a bigger power supply, bigger hard drive, whatever, whatever reason it is that drives you to have a conventional desktop case. So the ones here range everything from ludicrously huge to vanishingly small. I just got a pretty good look at a case that is not either one of those extremes but it is pretty expensive. It is over $300. On the other hand, it is beautiful.

Sarah Lien: I am Sarah and I just got here. And if you don’t mind, I can give you a little introduction about the D-Frame.

Timothy: Okay great. What are we looking at here, right next to you? We’ve got an interesting pile of parts. And then we have got a case.

Sarah: Yes. I guess once when people get here, they can see the first part is a disassembled case, and they can play with the case, we know. But the cool thing is that we want to let the users build their case by themselves, from zero to completely 100 percent. As you can see, there are some components, but after that we will give you the toolsets, and the side panel glasses, and then you can build it like this.

Timothy: Tell me a little bit about the actual components that are in this case.

Sarah: The actual what?

Timothy: The components.

Sarah: Oh the components? So it is like, we got it with – actually we make all the material as aluminum pipe so that we can easily just install them. And then as you can see there is a shake-proof stand, so that when it is at the bottom, you can actually prevent it from shaking. So that is the most important part. And as you can see, there is a glass side panel, so that you can show off your equipment inside, that is a cool thing. And from here you can see, it is adjustable power supply holder, so after you screw it out, it can move actually, so that you can just fit any other size of power supply.

Timothy: Okay. And it doesn’t come with any of the components in here, you are supplying your own mother board and other accessories?

Sarah: No. It is just this thing.

Timothy: Okay. Now what will this retail for?

Sarah: What?

Timothy: What will this sell for?

Sarah: It sells for like crazy user and actually the MSRP is like $399.

Timothy: Okay. Will this be available worldwide?

Sarah: It will be available for at least Q2.

Timothy: Okay. And are these going to be limited edition?

Sarah: The important thing is that it’s limited edition. Actually there are only 500 pieces globally. And we are going to have an orange edition and there is a red edition as you can see.

Timothy: Looks like they have plenty of airflow.

Sarah: Yeah. Right. Especially it is open air cases, so even without fan, you will have a great remote solution.

Timothy: I see this one is quiet even though you’ve got three pretty big fans down there.

Sarah: Exactly.

Timothy: You can run it nice and quiet that way.

Sarah: Yeah. Right.

Timothy: Sarah, thank you very much. Is there anything else that you want to tell me about these cases?

Sarah: Thank you. No I think that will be all. But you will like to have one. This is really cool. And it makes you a big space so you can upgrade any equipment you want. So that we want to introduce. This is In Win. Thank you.

I think they mean, to quote the saleswoman herself "This sell for like crazy user." Personally, I might believe her, because I'm not sure that case provides an effective faraday cage, which should be the first thing you look for in a case. If you are crazy though, you clearly wouldn't care about that.

I used to keep my cell phone on top of my PC case (windowed). It took me 1 HDD, 2 graphics cards, 4 sticks of RAM, and 6 months until I realized what the problem was.I always wondered why it seemed like my RAID software was constantly verifying/correcting errors.:\

Yes, GSM phones can easily make a quite audible bit of feedback into the audio range. One of the answers when this came up before [slashdot.org] goes into why it happens. Thinking that EMI impacting computers is an ancient, solved problem is pretty ridiculous. Anyone who doubts this should move a microwave oven, a wifi receiver, and a 2.4GHz portable phone next to each other until they've realized they're wrong.

That said, the audio signal in the GSM phone ringing case is probably coming through the audio cables outside

The reason they make hugely expensive computer cases is not so they will sell a lot of them. The reason is that they want to manipulate people into thinking paying more is sensible. So, by advertising very high prices they may sneakily get people to pay $50 when before they would only pay $35.

I don't think you can get a decent aluminum case for $100... I've built my last few computers in some of Antec's more entry level cases, and they're still $60-$100. But as you say, no sharp edges and generally great to work in.

Out of aluminum? Maybe from Lian Li, but the price has gone up and I think their cheapest cases are going for around $70-80/pop these days for their decent mid-tower cases and you don't have to worry about sharp edges or anything. A bunch of their stuff is on clearance right now now too, so you can get some pretty good discounts. Otherwise cooler master if you don't mind steel cases, they round out all the edges and nothing is sharp. Even on their cheapest cases.

What is all this "without sharp edges"? Toughen you wooses! Grow a pair for cripes sake.

Funny you say that. Back about 15 years ago when I was working in a small shop, when there was no such thing as "cases with non-rounded edges" a guy I was working with sliced his finger to the bone, and clean through a tendon. You realize it takes them about 8 seconds with a buffer wheel to remove those sharp edges when they stamp the part out from the sheet metal.

Even on cases that I buy where the edges are sharp, I pull them apart if they're unfinished on the inside and buff the edges down. I've been c

The reason they make hugely expensive computer cases is not so they will sell a lot of them. The reason is that they want to manipulate people into thinking paying more is sensible. So, by advertising very high prices they may sneakily get people to pay $50 when before they would only pay $35.

Here in the U.S. there is a big effort to do that with food.

So by that token then you're saying that paying all that money for iPads and iPhones is sneaky? I mean Apple is very, very profitable so they must be overpricing their products yet people are standing in line to buy them. That's sneaky. I

As for food, let's see there's a lot more people on the planet, there's drought in the US where most of the food is produced, that would seem to be a problem of supply and demand problem, while a fact of economics I think it has little to do with being sneaky, that is un

Exactly. I've had a Thermaltake Armor for the past 6-7 years and have had multiple components swapped out. Though the case is a bit on the heavy side, the reusable dust filters, easy to access drive bays, and spaciousness have made it worthwhile.

Ditto. I have an Antec Solo that I've used for 3 upgrades now, and maybe had it 6 years also.

It serves me well. It has 4 external 5-1/4" bays that I only use 1 for a DVD drive... the other 3 have 3-1/2" disks in them. And it has 4 internal 3-1/2" drive bays with disks and 2 slow speed 80mm cooling fans right in front of them. Antec put a washable filter in front of those intake fans. I've put a slow moving 120mm fan at the back and the power supply fan, also 120mm, makes it all super quiet.

I think this looks like a pretty terrible one. First, I'm not looking for an Ikea case. if I build it myself, I expect it to be customizable -- I should be able to piece together various parts like an erector set to build something unique and perfect for the parts I put inside, not have only a single design. What's the point?

Second, an open-air case sounds like a bad idea. There's going to be no control over airflow here so despite what the woman in the video says, I think cooling will probably actually be

I thought that with my last case purchase, a Corsair 800D. I do love the case but now I'm thinking I would quite like to attend a LAN event or two at some point, and this thing is huge and weighs a ton. Just taking it out to the workshop to blast the dust out a few times a year is enough to make me think an aluminium or even plastic case might be a better idea. Maybe something slightly smaller too. It does look the part sitting under the desk mind, and has brilliant cable management and has to be the easies

Cases are important. I can't stand the cheap cases, and would rather spend a bit more money for a case that is easier to maintain, and won't slice my hand open every time I need to do something inside the case.

I am actually a bit surprised people are not willing to pay more for cases, since it is one of the few parts in a computer that can be reused after many upgrades.

Remember the original Slot 1 ATX boards?

No sooner did a lot of tower cases with lots of 5.25" external bays get sold then they went back to sockets and added a couple more inches of depth to the boards and you couldn't flush mount cd decks and mobile hard drive racks anymore.

Spending big on a case is just begging them to change something and obsolete them again.

I know people who will pay $400+ for a video card, and then buy a crappy TN panel display on sale for $130. I can't even look at TN panels due to the viewing angle being so narrow, it causes a stereographic effect that makes my eyes blur. Seeing how a display is something that you look at all day and will probably not replace for 8 years, I've always wondered why there's so many cheap, horrible displays on the market.

...because the market buys cheap, horrible displays, so that's what it supplies.

It's not a new problem; it goes waaay back.

I find it hard to generalize TN panels like that. I've seen some that are quite horrible, and some that are quite OK, and neither age not manufacturing date seems to have much to do with how it actually looks in normal use.

That said, you can have my IPS-paneled NEC 2090UXi when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

Or... I have an Antec NSK 2480 [antec.com] for my MythTV system. I painted the front panel black enamel and it looks like a home theater component. It's about $120 from Newegg / Amazon. Super quiet.

I put a blue Crystalfontz 20x2 LCD display [crystalfontz.com] I had laying around in the upper bay (edges and mount also painted black enamel) and the DVD reader (black front) in the lower. LED encircling the power button glows blue.

I assemble my own home machines. I spend a little extra money on low noise hard drives and CPU fans. I use nightstands from IKea for the case. I line the inside with foil tape and I leave the back panel off. Leaving the back off gives the case *plenty* of ventilation and stays very cool. I mount all the components to the side and bottom of the case with industrial velcro. The velcro sucks up *all* vibration*. Using low noise components means I can hardly hear the machine when its on it even though t

One does not need shielding to achieve FCC compliance on any digital circuit. Simply good circuit design theory.

The difference between a motherboard which has been FCC certified (there are lots, even though there's no requirement for it) and one that isn't is usually the cost of certification. Chances are your PCI-E or memory buses will crap themselves due to interference long before one of your motherboard components radiates enough EM to actually affect something outside of the device.

Chances are your PCI-E or memory buses will crap themselves due to interference long before one of your motherboard components radiates enough EM to actually affect something outside of the device.

I've observed that my machines run glitch-free for years at a stretch with the side panels off while I can't get a broadcast AM receiver to work anywhere inside of my house with the computers running, with FM being almost as bad.

Because computers don't radiate enough of anything to affect something outside of the

I'll take your anecdote and give you mine. I have three computers in wooden boxes. Two have been through 4 sets of complete upgrades, and one has been through 2. That's 10 motherboards, video cards, and I think about 4 or 5 powersupplies as well.

I have never had a problem with RF, not FM, not TV, nor do I have a problem receiving or transmitting on the 2 metre. My marine VHF receiver works well in the garage which is opposite one of the computers too. I have no problem with any of the UHF bands both CB radi

The case is not supposed to dissipate any heat; it is not a heatsink - it is a conduit. Unlike aluminum, wood is heavy and is much more effective at damping sound. A case made of 3/4" plywood will be heavy enough to not transmit any sound through the walls. Make zigzag entry and exit conduits and all the noise your computer makes will not make it out. While you are at it, you may as well make the case into a desk with a removable access panel.

Wood is terrible for heat dissipation and blocking electromagnetic interference. There's a reason we use aluminum.

I'll keep that in mind next time I try a wooden heatsink. Fortunately over the years I've only ever used wood for cases, and despite running some ludicrous gaming rigs in my time heat and EM is not something that has ever, nor ever will be an issue.

Your theory about heat breaks fails to take into account that the massive volume of air inside your case is a brilliant insulator. Aluminium only works well when directly coupled. There are a few cases on the market which couple the CPU to the side of a case with

My computer has a plastic case (like most laptops) and does not have a problem with EM...

I am looking at cases at the moment and thinking about my next desktop. The price of this computer is not the problem as like others have said, the case is the one component that last through several incarnations of the desktop computer. I want a good strong case that will evolve with the computer. I will however want a case in which I can design and control the airflow and this case does not allow that. Most people

It's pretty, but completely impractical, it's literally wide open, you can't create a significant air flow and it might filter your air better than a hepa filter right before it overheats your components from the dust, but as I said it does look cool... just needs some finishing touches from somebody who understands a thing or about computer building. Also those pipes would be 10x cooler if they supported water cooling. Might as well right?

You can do a lot better with a wide open case [odroid.com] (it's a 6cm cube if you wonder about size) for a sweet ARM 4-core 1.7-2.0GHz machine. This kind of gear used to cost over $800 early last year, this one [hardkernel.com] is $89, or after including 64GB disk and other "optional" components, shipping, etc, $226. And instead of RasPi's ~$100 toy, you get a fully capable, perfectly quiet computer.

Yuck. My opinion is that it's over $300 and ugly. There really haven't been good cases made since IBM's PS/2 line, which was carefully thought out to be easily opened using a nickel and one's hands. It also had internal moldings to channel air to the right places and foam on the inside of case to deaden noise.

A beautiful case is one that is small enough to escape notice, quiet enough so that is is effectively silent, or well engineered enough to allow easy construction or 10 hard drive bays in a small volume. How many people really want a bright orange monstrosity on or under their desk that screams, "LOVE CHILD OF A COMPUTER AND AN ERECTOR SET!!"?

Amen, I'll stick with Silverstone cases - minimalistic design, well engineered, and quiet. Why do enthusiast cases have to be lit up like christmas trees or look like they came out of some teenage mutant ninja turtles cartoon. Efficient and functional design in and of itself can be beautiful.

Which brands/models have the quietest cases ? Something with vibration absorbent materials at the base and all the attachement points, internal sound-proofing foam, fans with angled outtakes... I've had the same high-end case for 13 years and it would be the only reason to make me change.

From a person who builds his computers still from components instead of ordering from prebuilt systems, I used to buy the lowest cost cases. After many a times where the cases were made shoddy, sharp edges, bays that had screw holes that didn't line up, etc, i opted to try out the more expensive cases (70-120$) and boy was i impressed. Anyone who's had to deal with the no brand name cases, and then put together a antec p182 or antec 900 is in a world of difference. Cable management, fan filters, vibration gromits, extra airflow from properly designed and positioned case fans, etc. Not to mention they use thumbscrews as much as possible, are pleasing to look at, come with extra cables. My own p183 came with a special ssd bay when ssds were just started to be made and getting popular.Sure it's a niche market and artsy cases aren't usually worth it, but don't knock well made cases that are reasonable until you actually put together computers and experience the difference.

Antec's support is great, too. I didn't have a 3.5" drive bracket for a case I purchased from my friend. I emailed them about how I may purchase one and support basically told me to go down to their office and they'll give me the part for free. They also threw in a bunch of rails, extra screws, grommets, and other brackets.

Yes. Yes they do. Computer construction is usually a one off event for nearly all users out there. Sharp edges, screws which don't line up are issues that plague you for half an hour and then never again until the next computer.

People refuse to spend $100 on things which plague their lives every day or every week. Don't underestimate how cheap people in general are.

My only big problem is rails. My last machine was in a Logisys X-Blade (yes, that old.) I contacted them and they sent me an assortment of rails for ten bucks. My current case is a Thermaltake Shark. I contacted them and they told me they could not send me trays for love nor money. So now I'll never buy anything from Thermaltake again, because I know they don't support their older hardware. They have an online store for selling spares, but they don't make parts for old cases i

Transparent looks cool for a couple weeks untill the fuzz starts getting in everything. Then you find out what "detailing" the inside of a computer really means. It's not long before you just want a basic nice looking [newegg.com] case back.

Boring designs, doesn't look like anything special,only one that caught my eye was the metal tube 'd-frame' design. Most of them are generic enough looking huge ATX towers. Still I wouldn't want to let someone into my house and tell them 'yea dude, like I spend $400 on a fucking case for a computer'. Now if I made a similar case myself out of metal tubes for my own mini-itx machine, that is something I could be proud of. Splashing out on a mass produced case like that from Taiwan is nothing but shameless ex

Check out the Fractal Design Node 304 [fractal-design.com]. Newegg has them for $89. It can holds 6 3.5" disks, a double slot video card and a tower CPU cooler. It doesn't really have a dedicated 2.5" slot but I would think you could stash it somewhere with some double sided foam tape.

Do you have a recommendation for a mini-itx motherboard that supports ECC? I'm starting to think about building something like this myself (several HDs, raidZ, small, quiet). I'm debating whether I want ECC memory and/or a PCI-e card with SATA ports.

They should have put one of those in the video instead of that ugly orange thing.
I have a Cooler Master Haf X full Tower that came with a 1 KW power supply and 3 or 4 10 inch variable speed fans, clever wire routing grommets and accessibility options to get at both sides of the motherboard, front side USBs, card readers, external sata connectors and enough plugs and wiring to hook up every accessory you could think of, all for less than the cost of that case. And it's also not ugly.

This post is horrendous. Apart from plugging in several links that fail any notability test, the case is not notable either as there are much cooler and much more expensive cases around, the video is cropped to oblivion and player controls don't fit in the video frame either. If only I could fathom why did I waste another minute on commenting???

I can't see the video (why slashdot has to use its own not working for me, flash player instead of youtube, who knows) and from the other posters, it sounds like its just flashy. However there is much to be said for putting down a few hundred for a good case.

Very true. I only recently migrated from a 10-year-old PC-75. What did I replace it with? Another Lian-Li. I wish I could get ahold of a sweet case from Abee [abee.co.jp], but I don't want to go through a buyer service to get it from Japan.

I am very pleased to see some good case design. I really like having a case that is fun to look at. (The odd thing with non-computer types is if they see a really snazzy case, they assume you've got some sort of super computer under the hood!) This one is a little interesting, but I don't think it is $400 worth. Myself, I recently got a lot of bang for the buck modding some NZXT Phantom cases. They've already got a very nice sci-fi design and look like props from Mass Effect. They are $90 shipped [tigerdirect.com] at TigerDi